Wren Hop

Delve into the story of Wren Hop Vineyards: what started as an "experiment" ended up being limited production, pow-in-yo-face Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  From organic winemaking, to each vintage's own "book cover," Wren Hop shows us perseverance and attention to meticulous detail crafts the greatest wine legacies.

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Jim McDonough, founder

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Dan FIshman, Winemaker

We have a story- it’s called "mean something to someone." We like to say we make wine for "some of the people, all of the time." Wren Hop was crafted for hedons who like structured wines with big flavors. Inspired by our love of powerful European wines like Amorone, Cote-Rotie and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, we set out to emulate this rich style from the sometimes delicate and always moody cultivar Pinot Noir. Not to be outdone, we pursued the infamous "Wente Clone” for our Chardonnay program. This grape shines in marginal and not so hospitable cool weather sites of Sonoma County. You can actually taste the struggle and adversity in the glass. While not exactly pandering to the masses, we knew there would be other obsessed fiends out there just like ourselves. It didn’t take long to find them. 

Our philosphy is pretty simple. Organic farming practices, specific clonal selection, detailed sorting, extended cold soaks, saignees and a 100% new French oak barrel program.  These all play a role in the intense color and lingering finishes of the wine. In pursuit of balance? Yep, but more importantly... in pursuit of darn tasty.

Wren Hop's tiny mascot actually has quite a fabled past. Strangely enough, the eagle is not the king of birds. That title was conferred on the clever and resourceful wren back in ancient times. We named our brand in it’s honor and the wren’s small but crafty legacy. Our labels showcase a story connected to the secretive bird. Names like Omens & Prophecy, Flight Risk and Royalty in Exile start conversations and create mystique. Which, of course, works well over a bottle of wine. The labels are created in the form of a leather bound book that resembles an eternally “borrowed” edition from your college library. This creates texture, dimension and connection to the bottle. It also leaves you with a collectors item- labels change art with every vintage.

Wren Hop wine labels are in the form of a leather bound book

It’s almost ludicrous how much we love the details. From spec’ing type for our vineyard row markers to agonizing over the perfect hand peeled wood table for our tasting room- presentation is what drives experience. Riedel stems, Cornetto decanters, Laguiole openers, these things make us downright giddy.  After 14 months of hard labor and extreme standards, this wine is not showing up in an off the rack polyester suit. We’re also careful to remove any pretension with our rough luxe brand voice and personal pourings. Or as Don Henley calls it-  “a deadhead sticker on a cadillac” We host private, sit down tastings at the vineyard one group at a time. It’s bespoke wine tasting at it’s most casual non-snootiness. 

Our production is small and personal and that’s how it will stay. Many people ask us about growth, but we really just want to stay limited and nimble. We’ve made many friends and have shared even more bottles with them. Yes- there is exhaustion that no amount of caffeine will cure, but that late night glass and the sound of coyotes yelping in approval is worth it. Here’s to the eternal howling. Slainte- Jim McDonough/Wren Hop

#Harvest2015 With #Sonoma Coast #Winery: Alma Fria

Harvest 2015 is underway!  To fully appreciate the art of winemaking, VAULT29 is taking you behind the scenes during the busiest - and most exciting - time of year in wine country. This week, Sonoma Coast knock out, Alma Fria, gives us an insider's look at the 2015 Doña Margarita Pinot Noir. 

#winewithsoul

First Pinot off the vines this seaaon. 4 am "pisca" at Doña Margarita Vineyard, Freestone CA.

#terroirexpression

Sign of the season: tiny clusters, many smaller than this. 4 am "pisca" at Doña Margarita Vineyard.

#coolclimatepinot

Up close and personal with pinot noir from Doña Margarita Vineyard, Sonoma Coast 

#westsonomacoast

Farming isn't the only risk, hauling the fruit downhill was quite the challenge.

#handcrafted

Fiist punchdown of 2015! 

If you haven't already, get acquainted with Alma Fria: A family owned/operated boutique winery crafting beautiful wines from the remote ridgetops of Annapolis (Sonoma Coast AVA).

Erin E. Wines

“The Building of a Brand” by Erin Eileen

While I’ve spent many years promoting and talking about various brands of my employers, I am now embarking on the journey of my brand; Erin E Wines.

I have spent most of my career in the wine industry on the hospitality side of the business which, for anyone in the DTC (direct to consumer) market, is as important as the quality of your wine. Some may argue hospitality and customer service to be THE most critical aspect to your brand. If the only opportunity you have to sell your wine is face to face I’d have to agree. Some people love to talk about the technicalities of winemaking, some love to talk about their cat while tasting your wine. I believe a strong brand can support the interests of many facets of people.

When the opportunity arose to make my own wine and create my own brand, I wanted to integrate the importance of hospitality and quality into my wine and my brand. Sure anyone can come up with a catchy name and label design. They key is coming up with a name and label design that you, the creator, 100% believe in. The quality of the wine and knowing the vineyards the grapes are sourced from was and is the other equally important factor in my brand.

I set out to create the brand. Literally pen and paper in hand I started making a list. What do I love about wine? What do I love about labels? Meanwhile I needed the wine. Believe it or not, sourcing the grapes and the wine was the easy part. There are a lot of people in this industry whose beliefs about quality align perfectly with mine. There are so many amazing vineyards and winemakers it is an honor to be surrounded by so many talented people. My first vintage is a 2013 Sonoma Stage Pinot Noir. Sonoma Stage Vineyard is a whole other interesting topic. Back to the label. I was going through the list I had made of possible names and logos and contrary to my original ideas, I decided to use my name. My name is Erin Eileen, hence Erin E. That got me thinking about the meaning of my name and who I am.

I have always loved the Irish Claddagh symbol. You typically see it in the form of a ring, the hands, the heart and the crown joined together. The hands mean friendship, the heart means love and the crown means loyalty. The circle of the ring is for eternity.

There are many beautiful versions of this symbol but I needed it to be mine. Back to the believing in your label and wine 100%. I enlisted my cousin Hailey Jensen and gave her the task of sketching my own Claddagh that could be used on my label. I think she did an amazing job, all free hand. This label is how I tell my story and who I am in a glance from consumers. The label is a conversation starter. When I think about the ways people share and enjoy wine in their lives it usually happens around a life event. To have your bottle of wine be the centerpiece for these events is an incredible honor. The wine is just as intriguing as the label, it also is a conversation starter. Each opportunity I have to share my wine with people and talk to them adds to the foundation of my brand. I currently make 50 cases of Pinot Noir, 50 cases of Sauvignon Blanc and 25 cases of Cabernet Franc. Blending the wines and making them complex and mysterious yet delicious has been an incredible adventure. I strive to make wines that are drinkable on their own, a no food required approach. The thing I have really enjoyed the most is having a brand that invites people to it. It is approachable just like the wine. People can identify with it and feel comfortable asking questions. Wine should not be a big, unknown, confusing topic and through my brand I hope to convey that message. It should be hospitable, approachable and easy to talk about and enjoy. 

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We'd love to see your Erin E. wine experiences in the VAULT29 app. Use hashtag #ErinE or #ErinEWines! Cheers!

Waits-Mast

From wine nerds to winemakers - how we ventured into the world of winemaking 

By Jennifer Waits, Co-Owner, Waits-Mast Family Cellars

When my husband and I embarked on the process of making our first barrel of wine nearly 10 years ago, we had no idea what we were in for. It started as a bit of a lark, but really an opportunity to learn more about wine (which we love) and to try our hand at crafting a wine from one of our favorite grapes (Pinot Noir). We had plenty of ideas and when Brian met with our first winemaker, they spent hours discussing the type of Pinot Noir that we’d like to make.

That first barrel of Waits-Mast Family Cellars wine (a 2005 Pinot Noir from Amber Ridge Vineyard in Russian River) far exceeded our expectations and lured us into making more wine the following year. We’d already been wine nerds, having attended the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival’s Technical conference starting in around 2000. Far out of our league, we’d fuel up on coffee and take copious notes while listening to scientists delve into serious grape growing and wine making topics related to soil, disease, grape clones, and the intricacies of the wine making process.

Back in 2000, we didn’t have much context for all of this information that we were taking in at the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival’s Technical conference, but we listened attentively and supplemented those kernels of wisdom with other outside research. We started to read more books and articles about wine - from technical to historical - and also began asking different types of questions when we were out wine tasting. We started to become those people asking: "what's your oak program" or "can you tell us the Brix and pH at harvest?"

As wine newbies, I vividly remember being at our first winemaking facility back in 2005 and laughing to myself when someone asked for the name of the forest in France that a particular barrel was from. At the time I couldn’t imagine why anyone would care about that level of detail.

Flash forward to 2015 and after 10 years of winemaking I realize that we think about far more details than we ever could have imagined when we first started. Although we may dabble in different forests, we do put serious consideration into the types of barrels that we use, from the manufacturer, to the degree of toast, to the percentage of new vs. older barrels that we use for each vintage.

Barrels are just a small part of the whole process, and we have also spent a lot of time thinking about pick dates, working in the winery to craft the perfect blend that highlights the terroir of each site, and even have debates about the color of foil to use for each bottle of wine. We are faced with countless decisions throughout the wine making process and hopefully everything coalesces in order to help us realize our vision of making delicious vineyard-designate Pinot Noir that represents the diversity of sites in Mendocino County.

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We'd love to see your Waits-Mast Family Cellars wine experiences in the VAULT29 app. Use hashtags #WaitsMast! 

“Wine of Revelry, #Wine of Contemplation”

It shouldn't have happened.  I should have been guzzling, imbibing with reckless abandon.  But there I was, thinkin' 'bout it.  This bright, light, chillable red, meant for BBQ and poolside debauchery- this wine of revelry- had become a wine of contemplation.  It's like a great pop song- you're humming that earworm when you realize, “oh damn, she's saying something deeper here.”

In wine, revelry is a partner to contemplation perhaps more frequently than in other artforms, if only for the fact that it contains alcohol.  Nevertheless, there are wines that seem designed solely to elicit joy- if you can't smile while drinking a bottle of La Spinetta's Moscato d'Asti, you are truly depressed- and wines designed to make us think; to sit with a bottle of Chateau Musar, a wine that challenges on so many levels, is to taste wine at its highest heights. 

Yet wines where thought and joy meet- think of it as getting turnt up to turn inward- take us to new places both physically and mentally, the joy of the corporeal transitioning to the deeper pleasures of the mind.  My most recent experience with this dichotomy was elicited by a Pinot Noir from the Cotes de Toul, an obscure region in Lorraine, France.  The producer, Domaine Lelievre, was totally unfamiliar to me.  I went in with no preconceived notions; I just thought it sounded like an interesting wine to try on a Tuesday.

At first sip, fresh out the fridge with a light chill, its burst of berry and tangy acid suggested slurpable fun.  It was a perfect accompaniment to our weeknight salmon, and, as one of the first wines my wife was able to relax for a moment and enjoy since giving birth to our son, an equally adept pairing for conversation.  Yet as we got deeper into the bottle, and it warmed slightly, it unfolded, revealing earth, and spice, and forcing me to think about what this producer, and this new-to-me region, had to say about Pinot Noir.  Can California make a Pinot this vibrant?  What really is a “serious” Pinot?  I was hunkering down in thinking mode, and put on some Coltrane.

“No, Boo, let's listen to Frank Ocean, I haven't heard that in a while.”  Enjoying the moment, not in the mood to fight for my musical selection, I threw on channelOrange.  “Thinkin Bout You” came on.  The sighing violin intro leads perfectly into the track's kick-drum-thud and wispy keyboard, Ocean's youthful remembrances fluttering on top of it all.  It is truly a perfect pop song, hook after hook, impeccable vocals that seesaw from vulnerable to confident, lyrics with a singular worldview about a youthful tryst, incredibly personal yet filled with a longing that is universal.  Like that wine, its mix of pure pop joy and intellectual depth lodged it somewhere deep in my conscience.  In both cases, the visceral sensation- be it Ocean's twinkling falsetto or Lelievre's twig-and-pepper snap- is inextricably linked to a particular moment; one rooted in joy, enhanced by contemplation.  “It will never get old, not in my soul, not in my spirit, keep it alive...”

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About the Author:

Cameron Porter is an Advanced Sommelier and Owner/Winemaker of Amplify Wines, a quality boutique brand out of Santa Barbara County. He also plays a role on VAULT29's Advisory Team! Stay connected to Amplify by following them on Facebook, Instagram & in the VAULT29 app.

Stomping Girl

"Wine Mic Monday" is a VAULT29 series based on an "open mic concept" where wineries take over our blog...because every glass and bottle of wine has a story. This week we are proud to feature Stomping Girl Wines -- a husband and wife duo crafting superb boutique pinot noir and chardonnay from top vineyard sites like Hyde, Beresini & Lauterbach Hill.

A Snapshot of Stomping Girl Wines by Kathryn & Uzi Cohen

Uzi & Kathryn Cohen, Stomping Girl Wines

Stomping Girl Wines was founded in honor of my grandmother, who began our family’s winemaking tradition in Israel, recruiting my younger sister to foot stomp and me to help pick the grapes during harvest on our family vineyard property. Two generations later, in 2003, my wife, Kathryn, and I carried on the tradition and began making wine in our Berkeley, CA, home wine cellar, enlisting the help of friends and our three children.

Today, working in partnership with grapegrowers at top vineyards such as Hyde Vineyard and Beresini Vineyard in Carneros and Lauterbach Hill in the Russian River Valley, we are dedicated to crafting superb Pinot Noir and Chardonnay using traditional, minimalist techniques influenced by time spent in Burgundy. We produce close to 1000 cases per year in Sebastopol, CA. Active in both Sebastopol as well as our urban outpost in Berkeley, we feel extremely lucky to be able to pursue our passion.

Our current release includes the 2012 Hyde Vineyard, Carneros, Chardonnay; 2012 Lauterbach Hill Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir; and 2012 Beresini Vineyard, Carneros, Pinot Noir. 

Producing small lots of Pinot Noir requires hand punching the cap that forms on top 2-3 times a day. The grape skins rise to the top with the help of the C02 that is created during fermentation by the yeast consuming sugar. Punching the 'cap' that forms incorporates the skins back into wine below and helps in extraction of flavors and tannins.

In addition to our emphasis on vineyard designate wines coming from family-owned, sustainably-grown vineyards, we are also proud to deliver this same top-quality Pinot Noir in stainless steel kegs for restaurant by-the-glass programs.  Our gravity-filled, reusable steel kegs substantially reduce our carbon footprint: there is no empty packaging to recycle or send to the landfill and CO2 emissions from transporting the wine are greatly reduced. Look for Stomping Girl Pinot Noir on tap in select Bay Area restaurants as wine on tap becomes more and more popular!

Our limited production Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is available to Wine Club members, on our website www.stompinggirlwines.com and at select wine shops and restaurants in the Bay Area, Southern California and New York. 

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Laetitia

"Wine Mic Monday" is a VAULT29 series based on an "open mic concept" where wineries take over our blog...because every glass and bottle of wine has a story. This week we are proud to feature Laetitia Vineyard & Winery. The passion behind the brand is displayed by their premium estate wines showcasing the distinctive qualities of the Arroyo Grande Valley. Located in Southern San Luis Obispo County (SLO), their beautiful costal property overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

My Family Vineyard by Nadia Zilkha

VAULT29: How did the winery get started?

Nadia: Laetitia Vineyard & Winery was originally planted in 1982 by Champagne Deutz from France, recognizing it was the perfect location to create Methode Champenoise sparkling wines in California. Contrary to so many French houses that settled in Napa or Sonoma, Maison Deutz settled on the Central Coast close to San Luis Obispo to plant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc for our sparkling wine program. We still use Pinot Blanc in small quantities as we really like its unique textural quality that softens and imparts creaminess to our bubbles.

VAULT29: What's the origin of the winery name?

Nadia: In the mid 1990s the winery changed hands and was named Laetitia after that owner's daughter. When we bought the winery in 1998, we liked the name very much and decided to keep it. In 2005, we were looking to name our wines from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard; we named it NADIA after me, the current owner's daughter. We appreciated the synergy between the two names, and I very much liked the fact that both our brands names end in IA, it's very pretty and poetic, and feels quite fitting. At times it's been confusing to hear people discussing NADIA the wine and not me the person but I've become more comfortable with it as time has passed. I'm also quite proud that I've been able to leverage the tagline on the NADIA cork, "You never know wher life will take you," into our present campaign that shows me, Nadia the person, promoting NADIA wine all over the country and world.

VAULT29: Tell us a bit about the people behind the brand.

Nadia: Without sounding biased, the team at Laetitia is absolutely brilliant. My father, Selim Zilkha, who at 87 is as vital, smart, sensitive, curious and innovative as a businessman as he ever was, is someone who really cares for the wellbeing of his emplyees as well as the growth of our brands. He even went on Facebook in 2004, but by 2008 he'd had enough! I think we can all understand his feelings about that! Eric Hickey, our talented winemaker, grew up at Laetitia alongside his father Dave Hickey, who makes our sparkling wines, and couldn't have a better understanding of how to perfect the product due to a lifetime around the vines, grapes and wines. Lino Bozzano our visionary vineyard manager has implemented many great practices to improve our vines. These include night harvesting, Sustainable-in-Practice (SIP) certification to ensure we care about the land for the future generations, using goats for weed abatement and new types of trellising to maximize sun protection at our Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard.

VAULT29: Why did you choose the region and/or varietals?

Nadia: As I mentioned earlier, the French recognized the potential for planting Burgundian varietals on our rocky volcanic limestone soils that benefit from being in the cool Region III climate. (At Laetitia, we’re only three miles away from the ocean and the maritime fog layer sits on our land keeping it cool all morning long during the summer). Our other vineyard at Santa Barbara Highlands is at 3,200 feet in elevation, inland and is very mountainous, making it better suited to Bordeaux varietals with its hot days and cold nights. The hearty Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes there are able to withstand and thrive in the Region III climate and the short and intense growing season. We’ve really matched soil to varietal to create wines that ring true, showcasing our commitment to the region we love that’s been so good to our brand.

VAULT29: What can wine lovers expect to experience when visiting?

Nadia: When I think about Laetitia I'm proud of our family owned and family estate run vineyard. We have melded our international roots and sensibilities to very American soils. The landscape is beautiful: gentle rolling hills with larger unobstructed vineyards. Our tasting room is friendly right off the 101 Freeway on the way to San Luis Obispo, a three-hour drive from Los Angeles, making it very convenient to visit. We have many interesting wines to taste there beyond our 8 core broad market wines. We make 8 different Pinot Noirs for the Tasting Room. My favorite is the Whole Cluster Pinot Noir, sold exclusively there. We have 8 different wine clubs to choose from including a sparkling club. So we offer a great deal of variety partly because of our size but also because we really enjoy showcasing the many clones and wine making possibilities our estate has to offer.

VAULT29: What does owning and working in a family business mean to you?

Nadia:  In our family it's a tradition that sons automatically work with their fathers; I feel so blessed that for the past 15 years my father has enabled and encouraged me to work directly with him. More recently, I've become the family face for our brands. 2015 marks our 17th year in the wine business and it's been a remarkable journey. We make delicious wines that are true to the terrior and pair beautifully with all kinds of food. This is particularly important to us. After all what's better than wine with food or food with wine?

VAULT29: Plan to attend any wine events locally or nationally? If so, where and when?

Nadia:  One event that I'm especially excited for us to be attending is a Laetitia/NADIA dinner at the James Beard House in New York City on Saturday April 25th. Eric, Lino and I will all be there talking about our wine. Chef Chris Manning from Thomas Hill Organics in Paso Roble will be cooking. He's already familiar with our wines having cooked at the Laetitia Estate House last November. It was a faboulous pairing all round and I have no doubt this will be as phenomenal as the last one!

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Teac Mor

"Wine Mic Monday" is a VAULT29 series based on an "open mic concept" where wineries take over our blog to write about aspects unique to them and their wines. Hot on the heels of a Best of Class designation for their 2011 Pinot Noir and a Gold for their 2012 Chardonnay in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition 2015, we welcome Teac Mor Vineyards to take over our mic. Teac Mor Vineyards is a family owned and operated winery in the Russian River Valley appellation of Sonoma County. They produce Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from their estate grown grapes. 

"Teac Mor" by Christine Moore

In 1998, we planted 30 acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. By 2001, we were selling those grapes.  We chose as the name of the vineyard Teac Mor, which means “big house” in Gaelic. The name pays homage to our father’s childhood home in Ireland, which was the only two-story structure in his small village of Leitra, Galway.

My brother Steve cares for our vineyard now, and he’s passionate about what he does. He farms biodynamically, and feels deeply connected both to the land and to our vines. “I consider the vines my children and I want them to thrive long after I’m gone,” he said. 

Doing that requires that Steve take a holistic approach to farming. “What I do this year will impact future harvests, and I’m always thinking several years ahead.”

An olive orchard and large vegetable garden on the vineyard promote a healthy ecosystem by attracting beneficial insects. “I believe the vines are not only alive, but aware of their environment. I think that a healthy vineyard will result in better wine.”

Steve inspects his vines daily and adjusts his farming techniques based on what the vines call for. “There are five types of soil on this site alone,” he said. “To be successful, I need to see the distinctive needs of each plant.”

While harvest varies from year to year, we consistently sell the majority of our grapes to other producers - Duckhorn, Hale Mary, Bluxome Street, to name a few. In 2009, we began bottling our own wines. We produce roughly 1,000 cases each year, or approximately 600 cases of Pinot Noir and 400 cases of Chardonnay. When it comes to wine making, we adhere to a minimalist philosophy, seeking to preserve the essence of the fruit.

For our Pinot Noir, we use our Clone 777 and Pomard grapes. We allow the wines to take their time through fermentation, keeping fermentation temperatures relatively cool.

After fermentation our Pinot Noir wines are laid to rest in the highest quality French oak barrels. The Pinot Noir wines are not repeatedly racked or aerated. Instead, we allow them to lay peacefully in their barrels with their lees. This gentle approach produces Pinot Noir wines that are beautifully complex with subtle oak, exotic spice and a long lasting finish.

Our Chardonnay wines are made with both Clones 96 and 4. We blend the two clones, working to avoid masking the fruit’s natural beauty with heavy oak or secondary fermentations.

We use a stainless-steel fermentation process, age the wine with their lees and bottle them relatively quickly to preserve freshness, acidity and balance. The result is a bright and clean Chardonnay with refreshing acidity and defining minerality. 

People often ask us about the meaning of our label. We call our golden angel, Teaca (pronounced Teesha). She is our symbol of elegance and beauty. We believe you’ll find elegance and beauty inside our bottles too.

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Teac Mor Vineyards 4489 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa | www.TeacMor.com                                    Vineyard Contact, Steve: (707) 849-5510 | Media Contact, Christine: (415) 205-8095 | teac@teacmor.com 

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Spell Estate

"Wine Mic Monday" is a VAULT29 series based on an "open mic concept" where wineries take over our blog to write about aspects unique to them and their wines. This week, we are pleased to introduce Spell Estate and their acclaimed boutique wines from Northern Califronia. Winemaker Andrew Berge chats about the importance of soil types and the different vineyards where they source their grapes.

After many years of collecting and enjoying fine wines – with an emphasis on Pinot Noir - Bill and Tiki Spell founded Spell Winery in 2006 with the goal of producing world class Pinot Noir from Northern California.  Pinot Noir when at its best captures a sense of time and place.  In producing single vineyard designated wines our mission is for each wine to have a distinctive characteristic unique to each vineyard from each vintage.  The current release consists of four Pinot Noirs – one blend and three single vineyards, one Chardonnay, and one Vin Gris.  

One trait commonly touted by many wineries throughout the world is the soil quality their grape vines are rooted.   At Spell, we believe that it may be the single most important factor in defining the distinctive character of each wine.  Spell sources fruit from vineyards located as far north as Laytonville in the heart of Mendocino County and as far south as Petaluma at the southern end of Sonoma County.  The (driving) distance between these two vineyards is slightly more than 125 miles.  In comparison, the extremely diverse Côte d’Or in France is about 30 miles long.  

The soil taxonomy of each vineyard is as varied as the geographical diversity.   Soils rang from gravelly loam with moderate permeability and low water holding capacity to expanding clays with slow permeability and high water holding capacity.  The vines rooted in these varied soils take up varying levels of macronutrients and micronutrients which form the foundation of vine development.  The available water within the soils directly influences how and when these nutrients are delivered and consumed by the vines.  The whole process of vine growth is powered by the amount of sun each vine receives. 

Determining the impact that soil, water, and sun have on the composition of each grape and ultimately wine, is beyond the scope of this blog post.  Trying to comprehend the complexity of the matter is captivating and will be a life-long endeavor for me.  

Recently, I have been exploring the association between tannin profiles, specifically perception of tannin on the palate, and soil types.  I admit it. I love tannin. They are the backbone which enables elegant demeanor and composure of flavors of every great wine.  Their presence acts as an anti-oxidant which allows wines to age gracefully for years, even decades in some circumstances.

At the peak of ripeness, the Spell grapes are hand harvested in the vineyard and delivered to the winery in half-ton bins.  Once at the winery they are processed and fermented separately according to vineyard, block, and clone.  The protocols are the same for each lot as it is our goal to preserve the essence of each vineyard. The underlying theme is all about extraction with the goal of producing wines with excellent concentration, balance and age-ability. 

Initially when we started the process of sourcing vineyards soil type was not a significant part of the discussion.  Given the great distance between vineyards it is not surprising each of the Spell vineyards has a different soil type.  These vineyards yield grapes that produce a wine with its own character and the soil is just one contributing factor to their tannin profile.  It is a privilege to work with these growers and their fruit.  Provided below is a brief description of each vineyard along with its specific tannin profile.  

To learn more about Spell wines please visit www.spellwinery.com.

• Alder Springs Vineyard, owned by Stuart Bewely, is located 3 miles west of Laytonville, CA.  Surrounded by rugged and undeveloped Mendocino forest the vineyard starts at an elevation of 1,700ft and climbs to over 2,000ft.  The primary soil profile in our blocks consists of decomposing sandstone from an ancient sea bed.  The tannin profile of this wine consists of super fine grain or dusty-powdery tannins.  
• The Weir Vineyard, owned by Bill and Suki Weir, sits in the heart of the Yorkville Highlands.  About 8 miles east of Boonville at an elevation of 700 to 900 ft.  The Weir Vineyard consists of a conglomerate of gravely loam formed from a base of Schist.  Blocky square tannins are the signature of this wine.  
• In western Sonoma county, overlooking the township of Freestone lies the Dona Margarita Vineyard.  Owned and farmed by Marimar Torres, the vineyard sits at an average elevation of 500 ft.  The sandy loam, Goldridge soils produce a wine of intense flavor, concentration and a silky smooth, almost velvety tannin profile.  These soils cover most of the Western Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley appellations and is one factor that has made wines from this region world reknown. 
• The Terra de Promissio Vineyard is in the Petaluma Gap area of Sonoma County.  Owned and farmed by Diana and Charles Karren, the Terra de Promissio Vineyard has an elevation just above sea-level.  The Spell block sits on the hip of the vineyard as it shifts from a western exposure to an eastern exposure.  The soil profile here is a shallow clay-loam mixed with some expanding clays soils.  The profile is one defined by broad shouldered tannins with a hint more bitterness than astringency.    

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Alma Fria

"Wine Mic Monday" is a VAULT29 series based on an "open mic concept" where wineries take over our blog to write about aspects unique to them and their wines. This week, we are proud to feature Alma Fria, a boutique winery crafting beautiful wines from the remote ridgetops of Annapolis (Sonoma Coast AVA). 

"Meet Alma Fria" by Jan Holtermann

The Name:  Alma Fría \al-mah free-ah\: the soul of a family; the cold of a geography.

The Journey:  For three generations and up until 2010, the Holtermann family had the privilege of importing and representing many notable and leading wineries from all over the world.  In working alongside each of the different wineries, we were intimately exposed to the work culture, the philosophy, the winemaking style and the vision each had of their place in the global wine map.   Our import selections spanned from very rare finds to million case wines.  The personal relationships developed with the entrepreneurs, the enologists, the marketers and the viticulturists leading these organizations provided a unique perspective through which we were able to gain deep insights into the allure, challenges and intricacies of winegrowing. In this craft, success can be defined in many ways but, almost inevitably, behind the most inspirational winery cultures, there was a mix of humility, long-term commitment, hard work, understanding of terroir and attention to detail that made them unique. 

Since 2011, my wife and I along with our two daughters migrated to Northern California and planted new roots in the remote ridgetops of Annapolis on the West Sonoma Coast.  From this beautiful and remote place, we are committed to handcrafting Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of elegance, finesse and complexity.   We believe our wines should reflect their place of origin, and be an expression of our family vineyard and other carefully selected cool coastal sites.  Through our wines, we strive to express the intersection of place and family – the beautiful cold Pacific climate so perfect for Burgundian varietals, and the soul of a family long-dedicated to the love of wine.

Reflecting on our wine journey, we constantly remind ourselves just how fortunate we are to work with terroirs of such potential and beauty and to do it with the help of talented and great people with whom we beat down together the remote paths and the gravel roads that make up this special region.

Holtermann Vineyard

This is remote farming at its best, viticulture on the fringe.  The property is located just north of the town of Annapolis, CA (population 200) and 5 miles inland from the captivating Sea Ranch coastal community.  The proximity to the ocean provides moderate temperature fluctuations that lead to balanced fruit development.  The soil is composed of a thin layer of sandy loam (Josephine series) of volcanic origin, marine sediment from ancient sea beds and rocky formations. 

Doña Margarita Vineyard

The gravelly, uphill drive to the vineyard, the density of the wild forest of redwoods and pines just behind, the proximity to Freestone and Occidental, small towns with such great character, and the overall condition of the vineyard, all represent in more ways than one the combination of beauty and ideal growing conditions of this region.  This vineyard is 7 miles from the Pacific Ocean, it is a very cool microclimate where the coastal fog provides very cool nights but sits just below the vineyard during the days allowing for ideal sun exposure.  The soil is composed of a thin layer of sandy loam (Goldridge series) of volcanic origin and marine sediment over fractured Sandstone subsoil. We are very grateful to Marimar Torres for trusting us with her fruit for one of our two single vineyard designated wines.

The People:  In Carroll Kemp, winemaker, and Greg Adams, viticulturist, we have found true journey companions.  Their talent and profound familiarity with the nuances and complexities of winegrowing within the West Sonoma Coast, their entrepreneurial advice, an attention to detail and most importantly, a shared philosophy of a “vineyard first” approach to winegrowing, have created a “working chemistry,” a blend if you will, that has been instrumental in realizing our vision.

The Wines:  2012 is our first vintage in bottle and the range is made up of two single vineyard Pinot Noirs that represent the north and south extremes of the West Sonoma Coast:  Holtermann Vineyard and Doña Margarita Vineyard, complemented by two appellation wines, a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay.  For the 2014 vintage, we will add a single vineyard Chardonnay from Campbell Ranch in Annapolis.

To learn more about our wines and read some of the early buzz written about them since their recent release, please visit http://almafria.com/.

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Trombetta

"Wine Mic Monday" is a VAULT29 series based on an "open mic concept" where wineries take over our blog to write about aspects unique to them and their wines. This week, we are proud to feature Trombetta Family Wines, a mother/daughter winemaking team with ties to Paul Hobbs, from Forestville (Sonoma Coast AVA). 

With their start in home winemaking, the mother/daughter team of Rickey Trombetta Stancliff and Erica Stancliff brought Trombetta Family Wines to life as a commercial endeavor with the release of their 2010 Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir. We caught up with them in the heart of the Sonoma Coast AVA at their tasting room (well, the family’s kitchen table) in Forestville, California. 

VAULT29: A mother/daughter winemaking team is pretty unusual. How do you make it work?

Rickey:  When we started out we did a lot of the work together but as things progressed, I was doing more in the vineyard and Erica focused on the winemaking.

Erica: Now mom takes care of all the marketing and office stuff and I’m in charge of the production side. It seems divided but there’s quite of bit of overlap.

R: My production training was initially learn-by-doing as a home winemaker, later moving on to work with Paul Hobbs. Erica was bitten by the wine bug early and then attended Fresno State for her enology degree, so she’s very at home in the vineyard and cellar..

E: My mother’s training with Paul really helped her understand the process and how important the intangibles are to winemaking. She’s also real comfortable being out in public, while I prefer to spend my time in the winery.  

VAULT29: Rickey, how did Erica first become interested in wine?

R: We’d have wine with dinner all the time and as she was growing up, her dad would always ask her to smell the wine and describe it. He encouraged Erica to communicate in a sensory way, telling us what she thought about the wine. When I began working with Paul, he became a family friend and we spent a lot of nights around the dinner table, talking about wine. Erica was there, and wine became more of an activity than it just being a beverage on the table.

She didn’t show much interest in winemaking as a career until her junior year in high school. After talking with Paul and other winemakers in the area, they all suggested that Fresno State would be a great place for her to begin studies toward a wine career, given the school’s emphasis on a practical, rather than theoretical, winemaking education. In a fortuitous coincidence, Erica, an accomplished equestrian competitor in Three Day Eventing, was offered a scholarship to join the team at Fresno before she’d even applied, so there might have been a little bit of fate involved in the decision.  

VAULT29: Were there big changes between being a home winemaker and doing it on a professional basis?

R: My husband (Roger) and I planted Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Merlot at our house in 1998. We did a good job with our farming, but once I started working with Paul, my eyes got opened to all of the small touches that impact your grapes and the finished wine. The right trellising, how to maintain vine health, and deciding when to pick are all big deals that sometimes are overlooked when you’re doing it as a hobby. In the pro winery, I learned first-hand how important it was to clean up constantly and to keep everything sanitary. We were aware of this as home winemakers, but never practiced it to this fanatical level until we were making wine for sale. Roger is still a home winemaker and he’s benefited from some of what we’ve learned doing it commercially. 

Even though we don’t own the vineyards where we source Trombetta’s fruit, the growers let us give them input on how they’re farmed. It’s proven that practical experience gained from my work commercially has been good for Roger’s home winemaking, while at the same time the hands-on work we do at the house gives us a frame of reference for what the growers we work with for Trombetta are up to. 

VAULT29: Erica, when we think of the Paul Hobbs winemaking style, we think of lush, overwhelming fruit, and big, masculine wines. The Trombetta Family wines have a very different personality. Did that naturally happen or did you consciously try to stay away from the Hobbs winemaking approach?

E: 2010 was the first vintage from Trombetta Family Wines but before then, my parents talked about all of the different wines that they liked and would want to have the family name on. Their preference leaned toward something elegant and food friendly, with lots of finesse. What they wanted to present was their passion for what a Sonoma Pinot should be. Our wines are little lighter on the oak than Paul’s, maybe with a slightly greater emphasis on refinement, not power.

VAULT29: So do you approach the wine with a style in mind or is it dictated by what that particular vintage’s fruit has to offer?

E: Both. Every vineyard has its own profile, and each vintage provides growing conditions that are unique. Our goal is to maximize the characteristics of the site and the weather and produce a wine that is still definably “Trombetta.”

R: We’ve now released three vintages of Pinot Noir from the Gap’s Crown Vineyard and while they’re different, there’s definitely a family resemblance, not only in terms of the vineyard, but of the way we’ve handled the élevage. I’m particularly proud of our 2011. It was a notoriously difficult vintage in the Sonoma Coast AVA, with the weather doing everything entirely wrong for pretty much the entire season. We scheduled our pick for early in the morning (so early it might as well be called a night harvest) and a couple of minutes after the last grape went into the bin, the skies opened up and let loose with a couple of inches of rain. When it was young, the wine reflected the lean, tough conditions of the vintage, but as its matured in the bottle, it’s evolved into a very elegant, feminine wine that captures everything we look for in Pinot Noir. A lot of those same elements are also noticeable in our 2012 Gap’s Crown PN and even in our 2012 Sonoma Coast bottling, made from fruit sourced in the Petersen Vineyard on the valley floor near Sebastopol.

VAULT29: You’ve just released the 2012 Trombetta Gap’s Crown PN along with the 2012 Trombetta Sonoma Coast PN. What’s on the horizon?

R: We’ve made Chardonnay for the first time in 2014. It came from a small block at the top of Gap’s Crown. It’s cool and benefits a lot from the nighttime breezes coming in from the coast, an ideal spot to grow Chardonnay.

E: Our long range plan for the Trombetta portfolio has always been to bring Chardonnay into the program. The market likes it, we like it, and we lucked out in finding such a great fruit source. Our really long, longterm plan is probably going to be to produce a Bordeaux blend of some sort. It’s something I feel a real affinity to and we think it would be a great addition to what we’re already doing. Back when I was first tasting wine, I got to taste a Merlot from the Michael Black Vineyard in Napa. It may have been the wine that sent me down the pathway to becoming a winemaker. Ideally, we’ll one day be able to buy fruit from Michael or at least in Coombsville, we’ll see what happens over the next 4-5 years. We’re not in a hurry, and we’ll only do this when the time is right.

R: For the near future, we’d just like to build a solid base of supporters and please a big enough group of people to enable us to build our production slowly. We want it to be small, maybe adding another Chardonnay or two and of course, the Bordeaux blend. PN is my great love, and if we can develop more grape sources here, we might do another vineyard-designate PN if it feels right.

The Tombetta Wines are made by Rickey Trombetta Stancliff and Erica Stancliff. Their most recent releases are available at fine wine shops and restaurants around the country, as well as directly from the winery at http://www.trombettawines.com.

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Pali Wine Co

"Wine Mic Monday" is a VAULT29 series based on an "open mic concept" where wineries take over our blog to write about aspects unique to them and their wines. This week, we are proud to feature Pali Wine Co, from Santa Barbara. Their 2012 Huntington Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County was just featured in Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines in 2014.

Pali Wine Co and the “2012 Huntington Pinot Noir”

Pali Wine Company has been crafting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay using grapes from top appellations in California and Oregon since 2005. Pali gets its namesake after owners Tim Perr and Scott Knight’s hometown of Pacific Palisades. What began as just a small production winery has developed over the years into a company that produces almost 40,000 cases of wine annually. With the skills of winemaker Aaron Walker, we produce a cuvee series of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay defined by their appellation of origin but named after different neighborhoods in the Pacific Palisades. We also craft a line of Vineyard Designate wines made in very small production. In 2010, Pali launched a sister label, Tower 15 Winery, which showcases varietals from the Paso Robles region

Recently, our 2012 Huntington Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara Country was featured on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2014 list. Though many of our wines have received scores of 90 and above, this is the first time in our almost 10 years as a winery that our wine has made this coveted Top 100 list. This wine is described by Wine Spectator’s James Laube (who also gave it a score of 90 points) as “Notably floral and spicy, with firm tannins amid the dark berry, mocha, roasted herb and fresh-turned earth flavors. This is complex, dense and persistent, gaining depth and length. Drink now through 2022.”

The beauty of this wine is that it retails for just $22.50 a bottle. We at Pali pride ourselves on being able to offer consumers wine at great prices without compromising the quality. Pinot Noirs typically pair well with a variety of dishes such as salmon or other fatty fish, roasted chicken, and even pasta dishes. A Pinot with noticeable, firm tannins such as our Huntington can hold its own up to duck or other game birds and even a hearty beef stew.

To learn more about Pali Wine Co. and our wines please visit our website www.paliwineco.com and, stop by our tasting rooms in downtown Santa Barbara and Lompoc. 

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Be Thankful, Drink Wine

In celebration of Thanksgiving, we're sharing our 7 Wines of Thanks. "Wine Mic Monday" and "The Hit List" will resume next week. Happy Thanksgiving Winelovers! Don't forget to capture your wine experiences using the VAULT29 app.

"7 Wines of Thanks" By Jen Loh & Naya Echiribel, VAULT29 founders

Year round, there is so much to be thankful for. We can begin compiling a ‘Thankful” list, which would include: health, happiness and love, but the reality is without wine our list would be incomplete.  Wine producers spend countless hours, days, and years to produce a bottle providing us the opportunity to taste their wine. We are truly blessed to be able to share our experiences with you in hopes you discover a new favorite. Here are seven memorable wines we’ve experienced thus far in 2014: 

2013 Rosé - Charles & Charles

This rose from Columbia Valley, Washington is a project collaboration between self-taught winemaker/Food & Wine Magazine “2009 Winemaker of the Year”, Charles Smith (K Vintners, Charles Smith Wines) and Charles Bieler (Three Thieves, BIELER Père et Fils, Gotham Project).  You can still find this wine at your local Whole Foods or wine shop.

• $11-$15 per bottle
• 90pts - Wine Spectator
•  Wine Enthusiast ”2014 Top Buy"

 

2012 "Clements Hills" Grenache - Lava Vine

In August, we made a trip to Calistoga to taste the wines at Lava Vine. The crowd pleaser was the light to medium body Grenache.  This wine experience is unlike any other we’ve had. Winemakers went from pouring wines to playing the guitar, while the winelovers tasted, paired, laughed and sung along. The best part about it? Dogs are welcome too! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2012 "Amor Fati" Pinot Noir - Rob Murray Vineyards 

Amor Fati means “Love your fate which is in fact your life”. The 2012 Pinot Noir was sourced from Murmur Ranch Vineyard located in the southern area of Santa Maria Valley, close to the ocean. Rob Murray planted the “virgin land” vineyard himself when he purchased it in 2007. Be on the lookout for Tooth & Nail winery opening this November in Paso where Amor Fati wines will be poured! 

 

 

 

 

2012 "Further" No Pasa Nada

We came across this red blend (65% zinfandel) from Paso Robles at a winetasting event aimed to help small family-owned wineries. No Pasa Nada is just that - small and boutique - producing approximately 900 cases winery-wide. You can only get this wine directly from the winery.

• $20 per bottle
•  Free Shipping – US addresses only

2013 Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc - Long Meadow Ranch

This wine is the ninth vintage of sauv blanc from LMR’s Rutherford Estate in Napa Valley. The nose alone draws you in with the fruitiest of fruit flavors, like melon and pineapple. Clean, crisp, and refreshing is what comes to mind when describing this wine. At $20 per bottle, it goes perfect with pizza, crab cakes and bruschetta. When visiting the winery you must dine at Farmstead, their restaurant on the property – It’s divine! 

 

 

2006 “Materium” - Maybach Family 

When dining at Bottega, in Yountville, our friends insisted we drink a 2006 Maybach Family “Materium”. This highly acclaimed Weitz Vineyard Oakville Cabernet received 96pts from Wine Spectator and did not disappoint. You may find it on the wine lists of several fine dining restaurants in California, like Press, Gary Denko, and Jardiniere, as well as Per Se, Grammercy Tavern, Jean Georges, and others in NYC.  It’s definitely a memorable experience!    

 

 

 

 

 

2013 Paragon Grüner Veltliner - Tatomer

An amazing sunny day sipper from Edna Valley (Central Coast). We were so fortunate to experience this wine at Ad Hoc, a Thomas Keller restaurant in Yountville, CA. The set menu, which changes daily, is four-courses of American “home-like” foods which can be paired with wine, if you so wish to spend a little more money. This Tatomer Gruner Veltliner was paired with thyme biscuits, local honey, and goat cheese. Talk about party-in-your-mouth!!

Wine Mic Monday: Emeritus Vineyards

"Wine Mic Monday" is a new VAULT29 series based on an "open mic concept" where wineries take over our blog to write about aspects unique to them and their wines. This week, we are proud to feature Emeritus Vineyards from the Russian River Valley. Their 2011 Hallberg Ranch Pinot Noir was just named #26 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines in 2014.

"Dry Farming" By Mari Jones, Emeritus Vineyards

You know when you get a summer tomato from the farmers market, you’ve been eating tomatoes from the grocery store all winter and spring and when you take a bite you instantly remember what a tomato really tastes like? I love that moment, it connects me with the farmer, the land and the food I’m eating. I remember that someone planted the tomato, tended to it and picked it. It grew in a field, in soil not in a greenhouse, not hydroponically. 

That’s the feeling I get when I taste a wine that is made from non-irrigated grapes, or dry-farmed. Dry farming is not widely practiced in California, as we don’t have rainfall during the summer growing season. In almost all other grape growing regions of the world there is summer rainfall. Our practice of dry farming evolved from a conversation my dad, Brice Cutrer Jones, had with his Burgundian friend and former business partner Aubert de Villaine. They were developing a vineyard together when my dad was given a life-changing lesson: “When you irrigate you change the signature of the wine.” We have been working at this practice since 2008, trying to capture the terroir of our incredible vineyards and create the most honest wines. 

Hallberg Ranch - Goldridge Loam & Sandy Clay with Roots

After 3 years of weaning our vines off water, they were capable of sustaining themselves just on rainfall stored in the soil and not needing any supplemental irrigation. And we were dry farming! It wasn’t easy to get there, but it was worth it. When a grapevine is irrigated, the roots of the vine will only grow where the water diffuses in the soil, which is a shallow area underneath the vine, and almost like growing the vine hydroponically. When vines are cultivated without irrigation they will grow roots deep and wide in search of water, especially in a drought as we are in now.

So what does all this mean for our wines? We’ve found that the grapes achieve full physiological (flavor) ripeness at a lower sugar level, so we have less extracted and cooked fruit flavors in the wine and lower alcohol levels. We find the grapes retain more acid so we have a more acid driven wine, even in warmer years. And we see smaller berries which creates more concentrated wines and a tannic structure. The wine has so many more dimensions, in our early vintages our wines were “classic Russian River Valley”, bold fruit flavors, low tannin, and higher alcohol wine. They were all personality with very little character.  My dad always says, "The character of a wine comes from the soil, the personality from the climate."

Hallberg Ranch Vineyard

After a couple vintages of totally dry farmed vines, I’ve seen a shift in the balance of our wines. They still have lots of Russian River Valley personality, bright fruit flavors and the like, but they are more elegant, more restrained and grounded with the character of our soils, which lends earthy and spice flavors, but also brighter acidity and a soft tannin structure. The wines express their vineyards, they express their vintage, and they express the people who care for the vines every day - just like the tomato from the farmers market, more complex, more exciting and more honest.

When Mari isn't drinking Emeritus, she enjoys wines from Stony Hill, Benovia, and DRNK.

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A Winetasting Event You Don't Want to Miss!

Saturday's Grand Tasting will showcase over 40 phenomenal pinot producers!

• Sample hundreds of highly acclaimed pinots from Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley, Santa Rita Hills, Oregon and more!.

An LA winetasting event hits Los Angeles this weekend! We have partnered with Pinot Days to offer you a special discount of 33% on all tickets. Simply enter the Promo Code V29SC14 when purchasing your tickets.

6TH ANNUAL PINOT DAYS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GRAND FESTIVAL TASTING
When: Saturday, Nov. 15th, 2014 2-5pm
Where: Skirball Center - Guerin Pavilion, Los Angeles 2701 N Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90049                         Regular Price: $75                                       Participating Wineries: Click here

• Meet the winemakers
• Discover and celebrate pinot noir in its many diverse styles, ranging from modern to earthy to elegant
• Explore new producers, find wines you love, and become a pinot devotee if you are not one already

• Capture every moment using the VAULT29 app, now available in the iTunes App Store! 

We call it Serious Fun. Tell your friends. Hope you can join us!